Man breaks national record by lifting heaviest log

By Elizabeth Hunter

This was the moment a Brit broke the national record for lifting the heaviest LOG.

Jack Osborn, 27, broke the British log lift record, pressing a whopping 222kg (491lb) over his head in front of thousands of spectators at Glasgow's OVO Hydro.

Jack, of Swindon, Wiltshire, began competing in strongman in 2020, after being coached by World's Strongest Man competitor and former Europe's Strongest Man Laurence Shahlaei.

He now hopes to break the world record set by Cheick "Iron Biby" Sanou in 2024 - a massive 231kg - to honor a promise made to his late father five years ago.

"I felt like I was on autopilot - and then I stepped up to the 222kg and realized I was there," said Jack.

"It was a surreal feeling, but I was quite confident with it.

"My father passed away just over five years ago, and one of the promises I made to him was to go for the world record on logs, so this is a step in that direction.

"I made that promise to my father, and that's one of the main driving forces for me."

Jack first competed in a local competition in Newbury, where he was the youngest competitor - but took third place on the podium.

In 2020, he entered Europe's Strongest Man for the first time, competing against strongman legends Luke Richardson, Mark Felix and Gavin Bilton.

While he didn't make the podium then, it fuelled his love for the sport, and he began pushing his training routine even further.

"I started going to the gym when I was about 13 or 14, for rugby," said Jack.

"I went to a local gym, where Laurence Shahlaei trains, when I was 16.

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"I saw him training, and joined in with him and a few other guys - and then got into strongman that way.

"Almost from the start, Loz [Shahlaei] had been in the sport for a while, and knew the log would be one of my best events.

"Over the years, I got better and better, and then got the British junior record in 2020 - then after COVID, I started pushing more for the log."

To prepare for his record-breaking log-lift, Jack ate around 5,500 calories per day, training on the lift four times per week for over two months before the event.

"Around five years ago, during COVID, everyone was at home - and I was really overweight at that point, so that's when I targeted the diet," said Jack.

"I went from 155kg down to 130kg, and then from there I've gradually built up to 149kg.

"Diet-wise at the moment, I do around 5,500 calories on training days and around 4,700 on non-training days.

"Leading up to the log championships, we focused for around eight to ten weeks, solely on log."

Jack now has two main goals to achieve in the coming years - making it to the iconic World's Strongest Man finals, and breaking the log lift record at next year's championships.

At 5"10, Jack is one of the shorter athletes in the sport - but he refuses to let that hold him back, and plans to leave his own mark on the sport.

"Next year, because I have more advanced notice, I'll put more time leading up to the log championships into training for it - around 12 weeks," said Jack.

"I know that I can get the world record.

"I want to leave my mark on the sport.

"I know it's going to be near on impossible for me to win World's Strongest Man, because I'm one of the shortest guys in the sport - but if I can make my mark on my best event, then I want to go for it."